GENERAL

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (unrevealed race) cyborg

Occupation: Former leader of the Underground of Deneb IV

Group Membership: Leader of the Underground of Deneb IV

Affiliations: Formerly Rambu;
    feigned alliance with but secretly manipulated Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell), Rick Jones

Enemies: Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell), Fawn, Rick Jones, Kree, Null-Trons, Rambu;
    secretly manipulated by the Supreme Intelligence

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: The Head of the Underground

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    last seen on Deneb IV;
    his homeworld and/or his location prior to traveling to Deneb IV are unrevealed

First Appearance: (As the "Head" of the Underground) Captain Marvel I#44 (May, 1976);
    (as the General) Captain Marvel I#45 (July, 1976)

Powers/Abilities: The General is a cyborg, with his original head the only surviving portion of his original body. His head is grafted to the form of a previously deactivated Null-Tron (with his brain grafted to its circuits and giving him complete control over its form. 

    The massive form of the Null-Tron is composed of an unidentified but highly durable metal, and it grants him great strength.

    The Null-Tron has an immense head

    Any abilities inherent to his original form are unrevealed, and, like most of the Underground, he progressively lost body parts in combat against the Null-Trons, and he had them replaced with bionic implants. 

    While initially dedicated to ridding Deneb IV of the Kree Null-Trons, he eventually came to seek an end to the conflict, no longer caring which side won.

History:
(Captain Marvel I#44 (fb) - BTS) - Kree Null-Trons devastated the Kree frontier outpost Deneb IV.

(Captain Marvel I#45 (fb) - BTS) - The being who would become the General was dispatched -- alongside numerous others -- to Deneb IV to fight against the Null-Trons. 

(Captain Marvel I#45 (fb) - BTS) - The Underground was formed on Deneb IV to rid their world of the Null-Trons. 

(Captain Marvel I#45 (fb) - BTS) - While the Underground's members were once fully human, over time they gradually lost their mortal limbs and had them replaced with cybernetics. 
    Eventually they were mostly machine. 

    Surviving his throat having been cut in combat with "his opressors" (presumably the Null-Trons) via having his head grafted to the body of a fallen Null-Tron, he became the Underground's leader or General. 

(Captain Marvel I#44 (fb) - BTS) - Seeing the humor in his situation of having only an organic head, the General enjoyed referring to himself as the "Head" of the Underground.

(Captain Marvel I#45 (fb) - BTS) - Seeking to absorb the Destiny Force (as it was later called) from Rick Jones, the Supreme Intelligence engineered an incredibly complex plot, including arranging for the General to obtain the Mind Infinity Gem (see comments) and pit Mar-Vell against his partner Jones. The Supreme Intelligence also increased the power to the Null-Trons to make their danger to Deneb IV more acute.

(Captain Marvel I#41) - Rambu uncovered the Mind Gem on the surface of Deneb IV.

(Captain Marvel I#45 (fb) - BTS) - Rambu showed the gem to the General, who said its strange power would be their salvation: No more new limbs, no more watching themselves becoming more and more machine.

(Captain Marvel I#44 - BTS) - Captain Marvel arrived on Deneb IV with his unconscious partner, Rick Jones, who had been weakened by Mar-Vell's having drained his energy via their Nega-Band connection while fighting Drax the Destroyer. Despite the devastation, Mar-Vell located a central medical facility, and he placed Rick in a standardized life support chamber. 

(Captain Marvel I#44 (fb) - BTS) - As Mar-Vell subsequently searched the surrounding land for signs of life and encountered and came into conflict with the Null-Trons, the cyborgs of the Underground transported Rick's chamber to the General in their subterranean Underground sanctuary.

(Captain Marvel I#44 - BTS) - After Mar-Vell fled the Null-Trons and returned to the medical facility to find Rick and his chamber missing, he was assaulted and subdued by Underground cyborgs.

(Captain Marvel I#44 - BTS) - The Underground cyborgs brought Mar-Vell and Rick before the General. The General introduced himself as the Head told Marvel that he wanted them both to not only join but to lead the Underground -- which he noted was formed to fight against the Null-Trons-- and in exchange, he would cure them of the disease he had discovered in Rick' brain as Rick and Mar-Vell's minds as they were merging into one.

(Captain Marvel I#45) - The General revealed his origins and their progressively losing the battle against the Null-Trons, but refused to reveal anything further about his plans unless Mar-Vell agreed to his proposal, as he could not risk compromising his plans otherwise. 

    After Mar-Vell agreed to the General's offer, Rambu had him approach the Mind Gem and told him that it was one of six Soul Gems strewn across the stars, noting that while each had different powers, all were equally effective on the mind. Acting under the General's presumably previous instructions, Rambu and a number of the other Underground members removed Jones from his life support chamber. Mar-Vell warned them against this, noting that Rick's condition was critical, but the General assured him that Jones would be sustained as his condition was mental, not physical. As the General revealed he was being literal when he had noted that they would find their way through the gem, Rambu and the others physically hurled Jones into the Mind Gem. The General then instructed Mar-Vell to follow Jones into the Gem or forfeit all hope, and Mar-Vell entered the Gem as well.

(Captain Marvel I#45 - BTS) - Within the Mind Gem, Rick and Mar-Vell battled to preserve their own identities, and -- and, as the General had planned -- the Mind Gem transmitted the energies of their fight to the Underground who then assaulted the Null-Trons. 

(Captain Marvel I#45) - Rambu met with the General, who noted that their people were rallying and that the two inside the gem were beginning to formulate battle strategies. When the General noted that they would at last be free of their eternal war, Rambu asked whether he meant they would win and noted that he still had some pride. However, the General told Rambu that his pride and humanity were nuisances, after which he noted that they were dispatched there to die: While cyborgs were the elite, they were all expandable, although very slowly so. 

    The General further noted that as Mar-Vell and Jones fought, their war would become the Underground's war, and that it was very fortunate that the Rambu had found the Mind Gem.

(Captain Marvel I#45 - BTS) - Monitoring things remotely, the Supreme Intelligence considered that Rambu's finding of the Mind Gem was not at all fortunate, but rather part of his plan, and that he had led the General to concoct this conflict for Jones and Mar-Vell.  

(Captain Marvel I#45) - After the General had noted that when one of the two in the Mind Gem won, the Underground would win their war against the Null-Trons. Rambu questioned how the General knew which one would win, but the General replied that it did not matter which one won, as whatever the outcome, the war against the Null-Trons would be over. He clarified that whether they greeted the evening as conquerors or the conquered, they would know peace: "That is what I promised and what I will deliver."

    Rambu was outraged that his General had no concern whether they won or lost, but the General noted that he was now a being between worlds: While he was a cyborg and before that had been a organic being, now he was but a hybrid. The Head continued that he saw both sides in all things: Looking at man, he saw the working of his mind; looking at war, he saw one side's cause as clearly as the other's; and now he lacked the ability to choose between the two sides, and so he allowed others, like Mar-Vell and Jones, to make the choices for him. He concluded that while he had once fought by Rambu's side, now he fought not at all.

    An enraged Rambu told the General that he had become everything Mar-Vell and Jones were fighting to avoid: "A double-sided, double-dealing, unprincipled mass of..." but the General swatted him away with one of its Null-Tron arms.

(Captain Marvel I#45 - BTS) - Mar-Vell and Jones' fierce battle led the Underground to gain the upper hand against the Null-Trons, until the two realized what they were doing to each other and paused, at which point the Underground and Null-Trons' struggles halted as well. 

(Captain Marvel I#45) - As the General stared into Mind Gem, awaiting the next assault, which he knew would soon occur, Rambu struggled to his feet. Neither Rambu nor the General were aware that they were being watched by Fawn, which was some sort of mental construct of a woman created by Rick via his connection to the Nega-Band.

(Captain Marvel I#45 - BTS) - When Rambu began pounding on the Mind Gem, accusing "this soul gem" of being the cause of their misery, the assault was transmitted to both Mar-Vell and Jones inside the gem; and, through them, to the warring Underground and Null-Trons forces, who toppled to the ground. 

    Fawn subsequently introduced herself and then noted that while her goal was to save Jones, it would save Rambu's cause as well. Her presence giving him understanding of what he needed to do, Rambu took Fawn's hand and dove into the Mind Gem, ignoring as the General cried out in impotent rage.

(Captain Marvel I#45) - Fawn and Rambu stopped Mar-Vell and Jones from fighting and Fawn granted Mar-Vell understanding that he and Jones were merely evolving rather than merging. Mar-Vell considered that the General had tricked him. 

    Fawn then led Rick Jones, Mar-Vell, and Rambu with her to escape "this jewel of madness and death."

(Captain Marvel I#46 (fb) - BTS) - The quartet departed the Mind Gem and Deneb IV. 

Comments: Created by Steve Englehart, Al Milgrom, and Terry Austin.

    I much prefer the name the Head to the General, but he only referred to himself as the "Head" of the Underground (quotes included in his dialog), and everyone else called him General. He was referred to as the General in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update#3: Aakon entry (October, 2010)...

    The General was last "seen" crying out in futile protest as Rambu and Fawn entered the Mind Gem.
    Captain Marvel I#46 describes Rambu as "last of vanquished cyborg army."
    We did not see the Underground army after the last scene with Rambu striking the Mind Gem, but I wonder if this is meant to indicate that when the fight between Rick and Mar-Vell ceased (or when they departed the Mind Gem) that the cyborg army was caught unawares and wiped out by the Null-Trons?
    As the whole Deneb IV, Null-Trons, and Underground army history is really vague, I would love to see a story that fleshed it out further.
    And then there's the whole Deneb IV discussion you can find in the OK Space Station profile's comments. Short version...Deneb IV in this story is presumably NOT Zenn-La.

    At the time of these stories, the Infinity Gems (which are now "Stones")  were all just known as Soul Gems, and what was eventually identified as the Mind Gem was the second "Soul Gem" we had seen. Additionally, this gem was huge, like 3-4' in diameter.

    While Rambu and the General/Head both have yellow skin, Rambu is an Aakon, while the General's face is more human beyond the yellow skin. 

    So, the General and the Mind Gem, the Millennia Bloom, and Fawn were all major sub-plots during the Supreme Intelligence's way overly-convoluted plot where -- as far as I can tell -- his goal was to absorb Rick Jones' Destiny Force power. The involvement with the Mind Gem was affecting the bond between Marvel and Rick, presumably facilitating the Supreme Intelligence's ability to control Jones...or something?

    Captain Marvel I#44 shows him with "pink" (Caucasian-like skin). He is consistently yellow in #45 and in his only other pseudo-appearance...

    In Marvel Graphic Novel#1: Death of Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell considers his many enemies, and the Head/General is shown (sans Null-Tron) in the bottom right of the picture. We also have a link to a larger image with a legend, courtesy of our own Loki here.
    That appearance also shows him with human-patterned eyes.

    Thanks to Loki for providing numerous additions to clarifications of disembodied head characters!

    Man, he should have quit when he was a head...

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The General should be distinguished from:

• GENERAL ( ) - enemy of Sentry, seemingly killed when Angel (Worthington) whose wings were bound by a net, fell 40' on him in an effort to stop his plot to launch a group of nuclear weapons, involved with using Mastermind to keep Sentry contained, later formed an army in the Negative Zone, slain by the Void. Francophobic, insane, used miniature robot armies--Sentry/X-Men#1
• GENERAL - see GENERAL WO--Tales of Suspense I#61
• GENERAL ( ) - dictator of Latin America country, teamed with Yarro Gort, fell to death while trying to destroy Silver Surfer--[Silver Surfer I#10], 11
• GENERAL (     ) - mental patient briefly empowered as an agent of Morpheus--Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu#3
• GENERAL (Buktir Van Tranh) - South Vietnamese Army general, head of the Bolivian portion of the Rockhouse Operation, killed by Punisher (Castle)--Punisher II#1 
• GENERAL ( ) - Cage, former KGB, Russian mob boss, has connections on the outside enabling him to attack the families of other inmates--Wolverine II#164 ([170] 
• GENERAL (    ) - Project: Armageddon, leader, committed suicide after experiencing the bliss of the Weapon/Lazarus' control and not wanting to live without it--Domino II#2
• GENERAL (    ) - purchased Deathless Frenzy, transported some to General Khan--Black Widow I#1
• GENERAL of Reality-10511 - variant version of Deathlok--Wolverine: Weapon X#12
  
• HEAD ( ) – Japanese scientist whose body was crushed in an industrial accident and had his head surgically placed inside an Iron lung and artificial heart--Young Allies#12 
• HEAD (Michael Vornin) - black marketeer, led hooded gang; encountered Human Torch (Jim Hammond) and Toro (Thomas Raymond)--All Select Comics#2 (Winter, 1943)
• Head of the Quintronic Man (Burk) - Quintronic Man--Incredible Hulk II#213
• BRAIN (Otto von Schmittsder) - Nazi scientist, kept disembodied head alive through unrevealed means. Mentally control others on contact--Adventure into Terror#4
• CHONDU the MYSTIC (Harvey Schlemmerman) - Headmen, minor adept at the mystic arts, brain transplanted into various living or mechanical bodies--Tales of Suspense I#9
• CONTEMPLATOR imposter - Skrull impersonating Elder of Universe whose head survived after body was devoured by Reptyl--Silver Surfer III#4 
• DARGIL - disembodied head served the Brass Bishop (Benedicto de vica Severtes)--Alpha Flight II#14
  
• DEADHEAD (Rick Shea) - Headshop--[Incredible Hulk II#345], 437
• DEADPOOL of Earth-2149 (Wade Wilson) - bodiless, Deadpool Corps "HEADPOOL"--Marvel Zombies#1
• DOCTOR MYNDE (Leonard Mynde) - criminal scientist with android body attached to human head--Captain Marvel I#24
• DRIVER REESE - manifested as giant techno-organic spider after decapitation--Wolverine: The Best There Is#1 (2011)
  
• FROST (Everett Donnelly) - created by Leader as member of Headshop, left them to serve as enforcer of Sam Striker in Las Vegas, apparently destroyed in battle with Hulk--Incredible Hulk II#395
• GHOUL of Reality-95431 - existing only as a head, he participated in Foxfire's assault against the Progeny--Phoenix Resurrection: Aftermath#1
  
• GLEEG - demon captain of Nightmare's Silurian Guard; decapitated by the Archenemy, kept alive by Dormammu long enough to tell his story to Amanda Sefton--Magik II#2
  
• HEADGEAR (Dwayne Hess) - Headshop--[Incredible Hulk II#345],437
• HEADMISTRESS (Eileen Snakard) - Headshop--[Incredible Hulk II#345], 437
• CAMERON HODGE - made deal with N'astirh that he could not be killed, beheaded by Archangel, given immense, powerful, scorpion-like robotic body--X-Factor I#1
• HUB (Hubartes Plubaris) - NuHuman, left as disembodied head following Terrigenesis, trapped within his own energy until gained outlet to communicate via the Royal Inhuman Vessel and Swain--All-New Inhumans#3
  
• Dr SIDNEY JOERN - leader of Fortress, decapitated by Wolverine, survived as disembodied head by the Project--Marvel Comics Presents I#114
  
• JAMES LARGO - Headshop, police chief of Sunville, Florida, encountered Hulk/Bruce Banner--Incredible Hulk II#427
• SCOTT LANG of Earth-89521 - zombified state resolved by Vision by converting him into jar-encased head--What If...? (S1E05)
  
• MIMIR - Asgardian god, decapitated by the Vanir, survived as head, summoned and dwelled within flaming brazier, used as information source--Thor I#240
  
• CHARLES PARKER - immortal whose body was destroyed, leaving only a still living head and heart--Suspense#14/1
• Renrutanit - witch who survived being decapitated by Conan--Conan the Barbarian I#180
• SIDRAT-Al-MUNTAH - Cognoscenti--Secret Defenders I#19
• STEPHEN STRANGE of Earth-311 - circa 1602 A.D., decapitated as traitor by King James, head survived and preserved in bourbon or something by Clea--1602#1
• STREET (Henry Kramer) of Earth-20051 - fell into mixer of advanced construction material and survived in form of that material, battled the Fantastic Four and was left in the form of a disembodied head--Marvel Adventures Spider-Man#4
  
• THUNDERHEAD (Greg Herndon) - Headshop--Incredible Hulk II#437
• TURG - Highly-evolved Moloid, born in the Forgotten City of the High Evolutionary; after body destroyed by truck, survived as disembodied head in self-propelled jar--Fantastic Four #575 (2010)
  
• CHARLES XAVIER of Reality-16111 - decapitated and enslaved by Savior-12245 (Charles Xavier)--Astonishing X-Men III#45
  
• other disembodied heads or General / Head characters, groups, items, events, races, or places...

images: (without ads)
Captain Marvel I#44, last page (side view, pink skin tone);
    #45, pg. 1 (full, but with Mind Gem in front of Null-Tron mouth);
        pg. 2, panel 1 (straight-on organic face, showing junction);
            panel 2 (main image, mostly full, partially obscurred with Mind Gem);
            panel 3 (best organic face);
            panel 6 (full, frontal; distant);

        pg. 8, panel 1 (full profile);

Appearances:
Captain Marvel I#44 (May, 1976) - Steve Englehart (writer), Al Milgrom (artist), Terry Austin (finishes), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Captain Marvel I#45 (July, 1976) - Steve Englehart (writer), Al Milgrom (artist), Terry Austin (finishes), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Marvel Graphic Novel#1: Death of Captain Marvel (April, 1982) - Jim Starlin (writer and artist), Al Milgrom (editor)

First posted: 03/05/2023
Last updated: 05/26/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Characters